Reputation

One of the main mechanics of regions is the reputation system. The group has a reputation for each region they have journeyed in; when the group enters a new region, the narrator should inform them of this, and the narrator should add a new line on the group sheet to track their reputation. The group's reputation in a given region always starts as a 0; it is often not necessary to track individual character reputations - by association, their reputation is tied to the group. You may, however, track them individually if you wish.
Reputation can be gained or lost - it has a minimum value of -10 and a maximum value of +10. Reputation is earned (or lost) at the end of each encounter; the narrator, along with awarding story points and virtues, may opt to award or remove a handful of reputation to group. You may choose to announce this change or to keep reputation secret - this is a choice by the narrator.
Reputation changes reflect the actions the characters took as it relates to the desires of the people and rulers of the region they are in. Like virtues, reputation is not necessarily tied to a specific morality, although most people and rulers are interested in peace and stability, so reputation gains are tied towards heroic deeds rather than villainous ones in these cases. Occasionally, acts taking place in one region will affect reputation of another (such as hunting a monster that has terrorized the$ countryside at the request of the queen of a kingdom region).
Reputation is divided into the following five categories based on the group's reputation score in the region:
Reputation Score
Scorned -10 to -6
Disliked -5 to -2
Neutral -1 to +1
Liked +2 to +5
Celebrated +6 to +10

Effects of Reputation

The following interactions with the citizenry and rulers of a region can be affected by reputation. At the narrator's discretion, other behaviors or modifications may occur as a result of reputation.
Behavioral changes include:
  • Amiability of common folk - the normal people of the land will react negatively to scorned and disliked individuals (throwing rotten vegetables or possibly fleeing), and will be very willing to assist celebrated individuals
  • Willingness to grant audience - rulers of a land will not grant an audience to scorned or disliked individuals; they may grant an audience to neutral individuals, but only if they believe the characters can be of some use; liked and celebrated individuals will likely gain audiences on demand
  • Reactions of guards - guards and other military or law enforcement of the land will closely monitor or possibly even remove scorned characters; liked and celebrated characters will be given leniency.
Certain actions gain modifiers to their checks and results based on reputation; these include:
  • Intimidation - when making any Intimidate (Presence) action, add +1 to the roll of the check if disliked and add +2 if scorned.
  • Blending in - when making any Sneak (Precision) action and using the normal surroundings of the region to remain hidden (such as the crowd at a market), add +1 to the roll of the check if neutral. You can't gain this advantage if in a small space, or if the nature of hiding is one that relies on actual stealth (such as remaining still in the shadows or hiding behind a piece of furniture).
  • Cost of goods and services - when purchasing items from a merchant, treat items at +2 rarity for the purposes of determining cost (not availability or willingness to sell) if scorned; treat items at +1 rarity if disliked, and at -1 rarity if liked or celebrated.